Endgame
by Lil black dog
Summary: A missing scene from 'The First, Part II.' David finds out from Elizabeth what happened after his creature made an appearance in the lab, and how this will impact his ability to cure his unique 'affliction.' I've tried to make this understandable even if the reader isn't intimately familiar with the episode.


A/N: A missing scene from 'The First, Part II.' David finds out from Elizabeth what happened after his creature made an appearance in the lab, and how this will impact his ability to cure his unique 'affliction.' I've tried to make this understandable even if the reader isn't intimately familiar with the episode.

**Endgame**

She was sitting in her kitchen, mulling over the events of today. She had always known that Dell Frye had a mean-spirited streak, had the capacity to do violence against another. That was to be expected from a man who had been constantly bullied by his peers in this small town for close to sixty years. People here referred to him as "the cripple," had little sympathy or understanding for the medical issues that had plagued him all of his life. Thirty years ago they had become so severe that they would have caused his death without intervention—intervention her scientist fiancé, Doctor Jeffrey Clive, had offered in the form of an experimental treatment. Dell had served as his assistant, one of the few people in town Jeffrey spoke to, and therefore the doctor had seen it as his responsibility to help Dell in any way he could.

Until a few days ago she had not known the details of what that treatment entailed beyond the fact that Jeffrey admitted he had made a terrible mistake with regard to Dell. According to her fiancé he had set things right, though—had "cured" whatever it was he had done to Dell.

Recently she had learned the truth about the procedure Jeffrey performed on Dell those many years ago. He believed that by bombarding his assistant with a high concentration of gamma radiation it would give his body the ability to overcome and heal the ailments that plagued him, but the experiment had gone horribly wrong.

It did cure Dell, and increase his strength, but did so by causing him to metamorphose into a primitive, violent, green-skinned behemoth whenever he grew angry or frustrated. In a fit of rage, Dell's creature had killed Frank Townsend, a local farmer. Frank and Dell had never seen eye to eye, and the creature allowed Dell to act on his latent dislike of the man without remorse or conscious thought.

Jeffrey had taken the farmer's death to heart and developed a cure. Despite the fact that Dell did not want to be rid of his creature, Jeffrey tricked him into reversing the process. A short time later Jeffrey had died, the victim of a freak accident—or at least that was the "official" statement—and it was believed that the secret of how to create the creature had died with him, but that wasn't the case.

Dell maintained the equipment in Jeffrey's lab for thirty years in the hopes that someday he'd be able to get the "strength" back as he called it, for Dell enjoyed immensely the power the beast gave him, the fear it instilled in others. All these years Dell had wanted to duplicate Jeffrey's work and unleash the monster within him once again, but without a medical background he had no idea how to reproduce the transformation to which Jeffrey had subjected him.

Several days ago a stranger had arrived in town, a man who understood not only the equipment in the lab but Jeffrey's work. Dell had deceived this man, duped the stranger into helping him repeat the process. Since then his "creature" had killed again, a local resident named Brad Wheeler who had spent years verbally tormenting Dell. The stranger had felt tremendous guilt over Brad's death, as well as a responsibility to undo what he had done, so had prepared a cure for Dell from the serum he found in Jeffrey's lab.

She had come to find out that the stranger suffered from the same affliction as Dell; that he needed the cure, too but wanted to rid Dell of his creature first since use of the antidote would leave the recipient incapacitated for two days. The stranger didn't want to take the risk that Dell might kill again while he, the stranger, took forty-eight hours to recover from the effects of the treatment.

Together they had misled Dell; taken him to the lab and gotten a syringe of the cure into him, but Dell morphed into his creature before the process was complete. Dell was furious with both of them and would have killed her, too had it not been for the other man, the stranger. He had changed as well and that man's creature saved her life.

A knock at the window above the sink startled her out of these thoughts. She got to her feet, walked over and parted the curtains, shocked and pleased by what she saw.

She ran to the kitchen door and opened it. "David, come inside, but hurry. They're looking for you, especially that reporter fellow. They thought you left town already, but it will only be a matter of time before they come here, figuring this is where you'll be."

The man entered, hair disheveled, shirtless and shoeless, sporting a few mostly-healed cuts on his arms.

"That's why I waited until dark, and didn't go to the front door." She gestured to a seat at the table, slipping into the one opposite him. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth," he began softly, apologetically, his hands clasped together loosely on the table, "but I had nowhere else to go."

"It's all right. I was hoping you'd come back here. After your creature escaped from the lab, the sheriff and that reporter fellow went after it. I used that time to rush home and hide your things." She went to the pantry and retrieved his bag. "I figured that would be the last place they'd look for it," she said, holding out the worn leather travel bag to him.

He thanked her and proceeded to fish out a shirt and shoes.

After he had dressed, she met his eyes, her own awash with sympathy and understanding. "I'm so sorry, David."

"Not nearly as sorry as I am," he replied, eyes haunted, his years of torment, of anguish written clearly on his face. "That was my best chance to finally be rid of the creature." The hazel eyes filled with unshed tears and she was sure he was remembering seeing Dell's creature smash the other syringe full of the cure—the one he had prepared for himself. He switched gears, his tone now bordering on desperation. "Please, I have to know. What happened to Dell? Where is he now?"

"Not here," she said, getting to her feet. "In the basement, where we can't be seen or heard, and if they do come here looking for you, you can sneak out the door down there." He collected his things and followed her to a door in the rear of the kitchen. The two descended the stairs, and she motioned David to the sofa, seating herself next to him.

He began anew. "Please, what happened to Dell? Were we successful? Was he cured?"

"I don't know for sure. When Sheriff Decker and that reporter fellow arrived at Jeffrey's lab Dell's creature made to attack them, and the sheriff shot and killed him. He did change back into himself after he died, but I'm not sure if that was a result of the shot you gave him or…or…"

He reached out and touched her hand. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I know Dell meant a lot to you in spite of his personal issues." He paused, drawing in a ragged breath. "And what of my creature? Did it hurt anyone?" he asked, his voice low, strained.

"I don't understand," she answered. "Your creature saved my life, kept Dell from hurting me. He was still so angry that I helped you trick him into getting the cure." She locked eyes with David. "But even with Dell, your creature showed restraint. It was much bigger than his, and while Dell's was intent on hurting you, going through you to get to me, yours just did what was necessary to keep his away from me. It didn't go out of its way to injure Dell."

He considered that in silence for a moment, relief softening the lines around his eyes. "I see. And what of the lab? There was still some of Doctor Clive's compound left. I can synthesize more of the cure, and if you help me, I can finally be free of the creature. I can't do it now, they'll be watching the lab, but in a few weeks or months when the furor dies down—"

"Oh, David, I'm so sorry," she interrupted. "Between the two of you the lab was pretty much destroyed. You said you needed to use the injection in conjunction with the x-ray equipment, and the creatures tore the x-ray table apart. The damage was so severe I doubt that it's repairable. Besides," she continued, "they've confiscated virtually everything that wasn't damaged, including equipment and chemicals. They're planning on destroying everything they took, said they should have done it years ago. They probably have already. Sheriff Decker stopped by an hour ago to let me know since I still own Jeffrey's house."

She watched in agony, her heart going out to him, as tears welled in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. He looked away, lost in his own private hell. She had seen the same tears on the face of his creature during its fight with Dell's in the lab.

"And Doctor Clive's notes?" he asked at last.

"He took them, too and all of your lab equipment from the room upstairs. I don't know how they knew you were working on synthesizing the cure from here but they did. I tried but I couldn't stop them. He had a warrant; said he'd do everything in his power to prevent a repeat of the last few days, didn't want anything like that ever happening in Vissaria again."

He climbed to his feet, shrugging on his coat. "Then there's nothing left for me here." He slung his bag over his shoulder.

"But where will you go?" Elizabeth asked, standing as well.

"As far away from here as possible for the moment, until I figure out my next move," he whispered, his eyes vacant, utterly defeated.

"Can't you make more of Jeffrey's compound? Use it in the future to cure yourself?" She searched his face.

"I don't know what it was comprised of. I didn't have the equipment to analyze it properly, and there was no formula for the compound in Doctor Clive's notes." He paused, focusing on her once again. "But at least now I know the condition _can_ be cured. Something to work toward. It gives me hope that someday I'll be free of my creature, just as Dell was freed from his all those years ago." He tried to make light of it, but she could see the pain that settled behind his eyes.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"No, you've done more than enough already." He gazed at her, a look of compassion commingling with sorrow and regret. "I'm sorry you had to go through this on my account; that you had to relive things best left forgotten." He reached out and took her hand. "But know this—in spite of what people here say, Doctor Clive was a brilliant, gifted scientist. He found the answer to a problem that has been eluding me for years, and righted the wrongs he committed before he died. You have every reason to be proud of him. I only wish I'd had the chance to meet him, to talk with him." Sadness settled around him like a thin blanket, devoid of warmth.

"He would have liked you. You remind me a lot of him," Elizabeth offered with a poignant smile.

He answered with a melancholy grin of his own. "Thank you. I'll take that as the highest compliment." His look changed to one of determination. "But now, I must be going. If they find me here you'll be harboring a criminal, and I don't want to cause you any more trouble than I have already."

"Wait. There must be something I can do. At least let me give you some money."

"Thank you, that's very generous of you, but no, I couldn't." He hiked up the strap to his bag.

"Please. For me," she reiterated, reaching into a pocket of her dress and drawing out several bills. "I feel like I—like we, Jeffrey and I—failed you. This will help to ease my mind somewhat." She held the money out to him. "Please. I insist. The thought of you out there on your own, dealing with this alone, tears me up inside. You're a good man, David, and you deserve better."

Reluctantly he accepted the bills, tucking them into a pocket of his jeans. "Thank you very much. I really appreciate it, Elizabeth."

"Please write to me and let me know when you've succeeded." It was her turn to look sad.

"I will, promise. Dell and Doctor Clive were right—you're a very special lady, and I'll miss you." With that he turned and opened the door, disappearing into the night.


End file.
